Dunklin elected national Ducks Unlimited president

Dunklin was named the 42nd president of Ducks Unlimited on Friday, May 24, in Portland, Ore.

Leigh Kreimeierlkreimeier@stuttgartdailyleader.com

George H. Dunklin Jr. is living a dream. Dunklin was named the 42nd president of Ducks Unlimited on Friday, May 24, in Portland, Ore.

“To have a chance to be able to work at both these volunteer jobs — volunteer dream jobs — and do it in a leadership position is a dream come true for me,” Dunklin said of Ducks Unlimited and also his work with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “I never set out to do it, it just evolved. Very fortunate to have that chance to be able to have both those dream jobs.”

The evolution of taking the helm of Ducks Unlimited started in 1973 when he became of member. Dunklin stuck with years ending in three and became a life sponsor in 1983. He became a member of the DU board in 2003 and president in 2013, which will be two one-year terms.

“George is the very model of not only a DU volunteer but the finest order of waterfowl and wetlands conservationist,” DU CEO Dale Hall said. “He has made conservation his life’s work and is committed to ensuring a strong future for waterfowl across the continent. He sees the big picture and the importance of conserving not only waterfowl habitat in his home state, but critical prairie breeding grounds to the north and Gulf Coast wintering areas to the south.”

Dunklin said he was honored and humbled beyond words to become president. He said so many great leaders before him have helped bring him to this stage of his career, and he is determined to make them proud.

“Bringing up our next generation with a deep appreciation for waterfowl and habitat is essential to ensuring a strong future not only for Ducks Unlimited but also for the health of our entire continent,” Dunklin said. “My wife, Livia, and I made sure we passed on our dedication to conservation to our three daughters — Megan, Hillary and Lauren — who are all Legacy Greenwing DU members. I encourage everyone to do the same for their children and grandchildren starting today.”

One of his goals as president is to focus on the collegiate and high school chapters.

“I really want to concentrate on high school and collegiate chapters. Those are where our next pool of leaders — our volunteer leaders are — and potential staff members. Once they get out of collage we can track them, wherever they land and get them involved in that local chapter,” Dunklin explained.

DU has 4,400 chapters around the country and that is their primary way to raise funds — a grassroots effort. Dunklin said many individuals join as members, which was $10 when he joined. Now that price is $35, but people join and move up the ladder.

“We want to get them in and get them to understand our story and what we are about. So one of the goals is to really focus on the future of this organization,” he said.

The other goal for Dunklin is to travel around the country and thank as many of the DU’s 44,000 volunteers as he can.

“These people work really hard. They donate their time and their resources, very liberally. It is just an honor to be their president and to (hold) the office, to come to their event and thank them and be part of their event,” Dunklin said.

He remembers it was a great honor the first time he met a DU president and now that he is wearing that badge he feels it is his responsibility to travel the country to thank as many members as he can.

Ducks Unlimited has a five-year business plan that they adopted two years ago that sets out these goals.

“There is nothing new that I am going to do that is going to suddenly change Ducks Unlimited. We have already gone through those processes and (now I am) just steering the ship and making sure we don’t go off course,” he said.

He definitely has things he is looking forward to by steering that ship, and one is a trip to the Boreal Forest.

“In a couple of weeks I am going to Boreal Forrest, Canada. That is where one-third of all our ducks that come through Stuttgart are produced. It is something that we have just started getting involved with and understanding better how the dynamics of that forest and those wetlands work,” Dunklin said.

The Boreal Forest is located in the northern part of Canada. Ducks Unlimited has a partnership with the Pew Charitable Trust Foundation — Ducks Unlimited’s largest donor — that over the next 10 years the two will acquire easements on the property to protect it. This will take $40 million from the Pew Charitable Trust foundation and $20 million from Ducks Unlimited.

“We can do that up there for less than 50 cents an acre. If we come down to the prairies, whether it is in Saskatchewan or North Dakota, the price goes up to $300 an acre,” he explains. “So about one-third of our ducks come from the U.S. prairies, one-third come from Canadian prairies and about one-third of the ducks come from the Boreal Forest.”

He has traveled to the prairie lands and said he enjoys seeing the Canadian prairie region. But this trip will be entirely new sights and he will spend three to four days in the area learning to better understand the dynamic.

“If we ever lose those important habitats we will lose the ducks. It is as simple as that. We won’t see these flights anymore,” he explains.

Another goal is to continue the relationship that is building between DU and the rice industry. Each of the six rice growing states now has a DU representative and a rice representative.

“I wear both of those hats. The reason I live in Stuttgart is both those reason, both being a rice farmer and a duck hunter. We understand now that we need each other to make it work. Ducks need rice and rice needs ducks. That’s one of our goals to promote at public policy in Washington, D.C. They work so well together. This community cannot lose either — rice or ducks — or we will be like the rest of the Delta,” Dunklin said.

But where did this love of conservation, duck hunting and the land come from? Dunklin said his family has a long-standing history and his father taught him many things.

“My grandfather actually started all of this in 1907 — L.A. Black. He started acquiring properties in 1907, and he died in 1945. He had three daughters and the youngest of those three is my mother,” Dunklin explains. Dunklin’s parents met in Memphis, but his father had a business in Pine Bluff — Planters Cotton Oil Mill — with his three brothers.

Dunklin’s father was a world-class tennis player also, something that he carried on.

“I was very fortunate to have a father that I played tennis with, because I played collegiate tennis. He and I won the state father and son four times and he won the state singles championship nine times. I finally won it on my last try in 1980. We worked together in the businesses and we hunted together. It was really unique to have a father to play tennis with, work and hunt together,” he said.

Dunklin said his father was an “amazing man” with tremendous values.

“Dad and I would spend time driving from Pine Bluff to over near Lodge’s Corner. It used to take about an hour the old road that went through Lake Dick, Cornerstone, Swan Lake and Reydell. He would pick me up after school or Saturday mornings (and) just that time with him that is when he really started planting the seeds of conservation and talking to me,” Dunklin said.

His father told him, “we do not own this land, we are simply the tenants for the short time that we’re here.”

“He would talk to me about a lot of things, but that is one of the things that he took time to visit with me about,” he said. “He taught me how to blow a duck caller in the car, and helped me understand the difference between buckshot and prairie soil just the different things that I really didn’t understand until later. I don’t think he was doing it intentionally, I just think he was doing it as a father, somewhere it clicked with me — conservation,” Dunklin said.

Dunklin’s love of duck hunting is what brought him back to the Grand Prairie.

“So when I got over here in the fall of 1980 I met this gentlemen after I bought the lodge — Herman Taylor. He really helped me understand the potential we had in our underdeveloped habitat. Just kind of went from there,” Dunklin explains.

There were some tough times in the late 1980s and early 1990s where duck populations were getting low and there were five years of a 30-day duck season.

“We lost a lot of duck hunters during that time. It was probably good for me to go through that period because it really made me realize the importance of habitat, breeding ground and the habitat that we provide in Arkansas during the winter time,” Dunklin said.

When ducks travel to Arkansas during the winter they need certain carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids. So when they go back to the breeding ground, especially the hen, she can have a successful clutch. She will sit and hide for 30 days on a nest until her eggs hatch and she will still be able to lead those ducks to water.

“She has to be really strong. What we do here in Arkansas in the breeding grounds is extremely important,” he said. “I put that in my mindset when I was commissioner for Arkansas Game and Fish. To be able to really help some of our rest areas and partner with Ducks Unlimited on improving our areas. It all works together, they have been great partners for years and years and I hope that will continue.”

He cherishes his time with the Arkansas Game and Fish — seven years — and will always be grateful for the opportunity. Now he is cherishing his time with DU to continue his passion.

Dunklin said the trip last week to Portland will be very memorable.

“The Arkansas folks that were there called the Hogs as we came in. Shelby Free came out and did her World Championship duck calling routine. So Stuttgart was very prominent in the convention,” he said. “In our goody bags there was Riceland rice, Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce City Magazine and Mack’s Prairie Wings gave a 20 percent discount in my honor. I was really touched by the outpour of the community — been very touched by the community.”

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